Bush and the Environment

The Bush administration has not been notable for its environmental friendliness. Could that explain why a report concluding "that environmental regulations are well worth the costs they impose on industry and consumers" was released on a Friday afternoon, guaranteeing that no one would notice it? Nah, I'm not that cynical. It was on the front page of the Saturday Washington Post, after all.

Study Finds Net Gain From Pollution Rules: Study Finds Net Gain from Pollution Rules
By Eric Pianin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 27, 2003; Page A01

A new White House study concludes that environmental regulations are well worth the costs they impose on industry and consumers, resulting in significant public health improvements and other benefits to society. The findings overturn a previous report that officials now say was defective.

The report, issued this month by the Office of Management and Budget, concludes that the health and social benefits of enforcing tough new clean-air regulations during the past decade were five to seven times greater in economic terms than were the costs of complying with the rules. The value of reductions in hospitalization and emergency room visits, premature deaths and lost workdays resulting from improved air quality were estimated between $120 billion and $193 billion from October 1992 to September 2002.

By comparison, industry, states and municipalities spent an estimated $23 billion to $26 billion to retrofit plants and facilities and make other changes to comply with new clean-air standards, which are designed to sharply reduce sulfur dioxide, fine-particle emissions and other health-threatening pollutants.

$120 billion of benefits versus a cost of $26 billion sounds like a pretty good deal to me. Why did I have to find out about this via a link from Tapped?

If you'd like to see the full report, which was prepared by the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget, you can download the PDF from the OMB website: Informing Regulatory Decisions: 2003 Report to Congress on the Costs and Benefits of Federal Regulations and Unfunded Mandates on State, Local and Tribal Entities.